Speaking exclusively to Burton Live, Dr Williams said: "It was in January I found out about them.

"It is a very exciting find as it gives us evidence of how the end of the Norman Conquest impacted on normal people. Before we only had evidence on how it impacted top level people [such as royalty].

"It does show there was continuing uncertainty for people after the conquest and there was reported unrest."

Dr Williams said any values put on the coins would be no more than "guesses" and the hoard would be valued in due course by an independent valuation committee, taking into consideration things like the rarity of the individual coins and their condition.

How the hoard was discovered

In January 2019 a group of metal-detectorists including Lisa Grace and Adam Staples, from Derby, were searching on land near the Chew Valley, Somerset, when they discovered an initial group of coins.

Along with five other colleagues, they found a total of 2,528 coins dispersed in the ploughsoil over a small area.

The hoard is in good condition and is made up of 1,236 coins of Harold II and 1,310 coins of the first type of William I, as well as several fragments.

Lisa said: "It's an amazing feeling to have unearthed this spectacular hoard. We've been dreaming of this for 15 years but it's finally come true."